7. Adverbs and prepositions. (a) Míldelíche hé him grétte Alexius ii. 296; Ríght abóute nóne ib. 387; And sófte bróuȝte hém obédde ib. 23; Ful ófte time ib. 52; Ful lúde sóngen Chauc. Sq. T. 55; Abóute príme id. Kn. T. 1331; abóue érpe Cant. Creat. E. 573. (b) Fáste þei wére ysóught þorúgh Alexius ii. 14; And éek as lóude as dóth Chauc. Prol. 171; Ther ís namóre to séyne ib. 314; stílle as ány stóon id. Sq. T. 171; Abóute this kýng id. Kn. T. 1321; Chíldren betwéne hem hédde þei nóne Alexius i. 31; wiþýnne a whýle Cant. Creat. O. 29; ȝif ȝít oure lórd abóue þe ský ib. O. 186.
8. Numerals. (a) she hádde fýve Chauc. Prol. 460; Fúlle séventéne ȝére Alexius i. 179, 187, 321; of fíue þóusende wínter and ón Cant. Creat. E. 462; nóþer férste tíme ne lást ib. O. 356. (b) and fíue and twénti wínter and mó ib. E. 463; táken þe ténde part óf þy gúod ib. O. 332; álle þe béstis ib. 173; For séventene ȝér hít is gán Alexius i. 194
§ 106. In poems written in more southern dialects the final -e retains its syllabic value later than in those of the North, in agreement with the actual usage of the dialects of these districts. Sir Tristrem (c. 1300) has still many syllabic e’s in thesis; in the Cursor Mundi (c. 1320) and the Metrical Homilies (c. 1330) they are not so numerous, and they are still rarer in the poems of Laurence Minot (c. 1352) and of Thomas of Erceldoune. The editor of the last-mentioned poet, Prof. Alois Brandl, rejects the syllabic final -e altogether in opposition to ten Brink and Luick. In Barbour’s Bruce (c. 1375) it is entirely silent.[135]
But in the later poetry of the North, which was largely under the influence of southern English models, chiefly of Chaucer, many inflexional endings, especially various kinds of final -e, have a metrical value. King James I, one of the most eminent Scottish poets, e.g., is a strict follower of Chaucer in this respect, both in versification and language.[136] This will be shown by the following examples: Myn éyen gán to smért stanza 8; To séken hélp 99; that néver chánge wóld 83; That féynen óutward 136; That ménen wéle 137; We wéren áll 24; Lýke to an hérte schápin vérilý 48; Thús sall on thé my chárge béne iláid 120; in lúfe fór a whíle 134; Now, swéte bírd, say ónes tó me pépe, I dée for wó; me thínk thou gýnnis slépe 57; And ón the smále gréne twístis sát 33; Withín a chámber, lárge, równ, and fáire 77.
Other Scottish poets, like Dunbar, use the final e in the same way, but much more sparingly: Amáng the gréne ríspis ánd the rédis Terge 56; And gréne lévis dóing of déw doun fléit Thrissil and Rois 49; scho sénd the swífte Ró ib. 78; when Mérche wés with váriand wíndis past ib. 1.
Only the inflexional endings of substantives and of verbs are used by Dunbar somewhat more frequently as full syllables, e.g.: Had máid the bírdis to begín thair hóuris Thrissil and Rois 5; of flóuris fórgit néw ib. 18; the blástis óf his hórne ib. 34; In át the wíndow lúkit bý the dáy ib. 10; And hálsit mé ib. 11; Bálmit in déw ib. 20; The pérlit dróppis schúke Terge 14. Even Lyndesay still uses certain full endings now and then in this way: Éleméntis: intént is Monarchie 247–8; thay cán nocht ús it: abúsit Satire 2897–8; Quhow Í ressávit cónfort Monarchie 132; Lyke áurient péirles ón the twístis háng ib. 136. But the final -e is hardly ever found in his verses forming a thesis.
On the other hand some contemporary authors of the South, reckoned as included in the Modern English period, continue to admit in several cases the syllabic final -e, but this can only be regarded as an exception. E. g. The sótë séason, that búd and blóom forth bríngs Surrey, p. 3; Thát the Gréeks bróught to Tróyë tówn ib. 21; Hersélf in shádow óf the clósë níght ib. 138; Agáinst the búlwark óf the fléshë fráil Wyatt 207; But tréated áfter á divérsë fáshion ib. 7.
Spenser does not seem to admit syllabic final -e, in spite of his archaic style.
§ 107. Like the inflexional syllables, the suffixes of derivatives may be treated in a twofold manner. Those of Germanic origin for the most part call for little remark, as many of them have coalesced with the root of the word, and others, as e.g. the syllables -ing, -ness, -y, -ly, can, on account of their phonetic character, only be metrically treated as full syllables. Only a few fluctuate in their metrical treatment, as e.g. -en, -er, -le, mostly after a consonant; these will be dealt with in the section on the slurring of syllables.